


Evening at a Friend's

by Tabbyluna



Series: Magcase Real World AU [4]
Category: Skylanders (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, Female Friendship, Gen, Sleepovers, discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27693061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabbyluna/pseuds/Tabbyluna
Summary: Boom Bloom could finally sleep over at Aurora's, because she finally returned from her holiday. Let's hope she'll have a decent time there.
Relationships: Aurora & Boom Bloom (Skylanders)
Series: Magcase Real World AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921933
Kudos: 2





	Evening at a Friend's

**Author's Note:**

> Heh, I may need to get more plot bunnies for this series. For now, enjoy this.

For some reason, Boom Bloom didn’t end up sleeping over at Aurora’s more often that summer. That was mostly because Aurora spent a good chunk of her summer abroad. So while she was partying it up in some foreign country with her uncle, she was stuck at home, in her room. Usually on the internet sharing her art, or watching some pirated cartoons.

When she finally returned from her trip to Hungary, the last country she was going to holiday in that summer, Boom Bloom called her up. They talked for hours online. About all the new sights and sounds Aurora saw on her trip. As well as all the things Boom Bloom got up to at home. They swapped memes, showed any scraps of art they did while the other was away. Even throughout her world travels, they still followed each other’s social media and shared their art.

Eventually, Boom Bloom asked, “Hey, by the way, is it possible that we could have a sleepover together?” If she had the choice, she honestly would have spent more time over at her place over the summer. Sometimes, it felt like Aurora’s place was far more welcoming than her own home.

Aurora typed back, “I’ll have to check with Uncle Eon. BRB.” A couple minutes passed. Boom Bloom waited patiently.

Eventually, Aurora returned. “He said that he may need a couple of weeks. We’ll need some time to rest from that trip.” That year they went around Europe. Aurora apparently bought something for Boom Bloom, but she would not say what.

Boom Bloom responded with a thumbs up emoji. And set her calendar for two weeks later.

*****

She counted down the days, excited as anything. During that time, she spent her days making art, watching cartoons and anime, and generally hanging around online. Over that time, she got into three heated internet arguments, and regretted two. (The third time was different. The third time, she was certain that she was right.) 

But not even those fights on the internet could extinguish her excitement at sleeping over. And when the day finally came, she was so happy she didn’t even mind the fact that Krankcase was the one to drive her over there.

When he pulled up in front of Aurora’s huge house, Boom Bloom immediately shot out of the car, slammed the door, and ran up the driveway to ring the doorbell. Ignoring anything Krankcase had to say, because at that moment she honestly did not care. Treat her nicely, take her out for dinner at a place she liked to eat at, and then suddenly jump a proposal on her? She saw what he was doing. And she didn’t like getting played like that one bit.

Aurora’s Uncle Eon opened the door, just as the car drove off. As usual, when Boom Bloom visited, she was greeted politely. “Greetings Boom Bloom,” he said. “I see you’re excited as usual.”

“Oh, you bet,” she said. She walked in, looking around. This house was familiar, with its marble flooring and walls which always seemed to look freshly painted. Aurora’s house was much nicer than any house she had ever lived in in her entire life, but she always somehow felt welcomed in there. To an extent. “Where is Aurora, anyways?”

“Up in her room. She said she wanted to set things up for the sleepover.” And once he said that, Boom Bloom rushed up the stairs, down the hall, into Aurora’s bedroom.

She opened the door, saw that Aurora was busy adding the finishing touches to an exquisite pillow fort, and tacked her with a hug. Aurora noticed her only a second before she touched down, so responded with a mix of welcomed surprise and alarmed shock.

“Auroraaaaaa… I missed you soooo much…” said Boom Bloom. Aurora chucked, and reciprocated the hug.

“Oh, Boom Bloom. I missed you loads too.” They pulled out of the hug, and rolled into the pillow fort. “So, what’s first on the agenda?”

“I think…” Boom Bloom’s stomach growled. She had been pretty excited to finally leave the house, to the point where she didn’t eat dinner. “We should probably first get something to eat.”

And so they did.

Aurora’s Uncle Eon wasn’t the best cook in the world, but he could cook some simple meals. That day, he prepared some meatloaf for the two of them, along with some mashed potatoes and stewed vegetables. He got the recipes from an old cookbook they had lying around. Boom Bloom always wondered why Aurora’s Uncle Eon wasn’t better at cooking, because they owned a ton of cookbooks. A whole shelf’s worth, in fact. When Boom Bloom brought that fact up to Aurora, she mentioned that Uncle Eon actually got three more on their holiday.

“Well, tuck in kids,” said Uncle Eon, obviously proud of his work. “I even made some gravy from scratch!” He pointed to the gravy dish in the middle of the table, where a suspicious brown liquid bubbled. Both girls exchanged glances, and then nodded slowly.

Gravy aside, the meal actually turned out quite good. The girls finished the food on their plates quickly, but they ended up staying for seconds. Mostly because Uncle Eon was telling them about some really interesting facts regarding European history.

“The catacombs of Italy were not only a place for Christians to bury their dead, but they were also extremely important in the history of Christian art. I had originally wanted to go to Italy to see them for that reason,” said Uncle Eon. Ultimately, they ended up going to Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. 

Aurora grinned. “That sounds like it would have been fun, Uncle Eon,” she said. “Maybe next year?”

“What sort of catacombs are there, anyways?” Asked Boom Bloom. Usually she wasn’t terribly fond of creepy, spooky stuff. She had always been more fond of plants and nature than anything gothic. But at the same time, a part of her felt it was important to learn about those things. She didn’t quite know why.

And so Uncle Eon told them both about the catacombs. About the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, the biggest and most popular of the Italian catacombs. And the Catacombs of St. Domitilla, the oldest catacombs. It was all very interesting, and both girls listened attentively.

Once they decided it was time to move the party upstairs, both girls put their plates into the dishwasher, and rushed into Aurora’s bedroom. “I still gotta show you the present I got you,” said Aurora. “Close your eyes, and no peeking!”

Boom Bloom listened. But still tried to peek. “Boom Bloom, I can see you!” Said Aurora. And they both giggled. “Okay! Now open your eyes!” Said Aurora. And when Boom Bloom did, she was greeted with a doll right in front of her.

It looked expensive. Made of porcelain, with blonde hair that almost looked real, and blue glass eyes. The doll had on a white cotton dress, leather shoes, and a tiny lace cap snugly fitted to the top of its head. “What do you think?” Asked Aurora, grinning widely.

Boom Bloom smiled back a smaller smile. She hadn’t played with dolls for years. Aurora wasn’t really the best at choosing gifts for her, which was strange, since she usually made her interests very clear to her. But she was always so well-meaning, Boom Bloom could never get mad at her for too long. Ultimately, it was the thought that counted.

“Oh, well, she’s pretty.” Boom Bloom wasn’t lying. She did think a ton of work probably went into crafting the doll. Holding it in her hands, she could see the paintwork done. The light rosy blush on its cheeks, the eyelashes they glued on, the little patterns stitched onto the dress. 

Aurora nodded. “The guy at the shop said that she’s one-hundred percent hand-made.”

“Well, that’s cool,” said Boom Bloom. She tucked it carefully into her bag, and pulled out her pyjamas. “Ready to begin the party?”  
  
“You bet I am!”

*****

They begin their pyjama parties differently every time. That day, Aurora went ahead to show Boom Bloom some ASMR videos she’d been watching before heading to bed. “It’s so relaxing sleeping with them. Really helped the jet lag to go away.”

And Boom Bloom had to admit, the videos _were_ very relaxing. Originally, she had thought that ASMR was mostly just people making weird noises into a microphone. But apparently, there were a bunch of other things. Aurora mostly showed her soap cutting and clay cracking videos, and those were oddly satisfying to watch.

After the fifth video, Boom Bloom spoke up. “Hey, uh, last week I saw this really funny Robin Hood related video. Do you want me to see?”

Aurora’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah, definitely!” She loved Robin Hood, the original legend as well as the subsequent modern media. At the moment, she had made it a personal quest to try and watch any and all movies and shows based on the Robin Hood lore. 

Boom Bloom showed her the video, and they had a blast watching it. Laughing together, and quipping at anything that amused them both. They discovered that it was part of a series, so they continued the evening by watching all those videos in the playlist. When they were on the second-to-last episode, there was a knock on the door. And before he waited for Aurora to reply, her Uncle Eon walked in, a plate of brownies in his hands.

“You girls seem to be having fun,” he said, entering the room. “What are you watching?”

“Oh, just some funny videos,” said Aurora, clicking pause on the video. The two of them turned to face Uncle Eon, who was smiling back. “What’s up?”

“I was just done making some brownies,” he said, showing them the fruits of his labour. “Do you two want any?”

Boom Bloom wanted to decline. It had been months ago, but the last time she tried one of Uncle Eon’s baked goods, she ended up having to brush her teeth three times a day for a week just to get the taste of burned rubber out of her mouth. But for some reason, Aurora’s eyes lit up, and she nodded. “Of course, Uncle Eon,” she said, and gratefully accepted the plate from him.

“Just call me if you two need anything,” said Uncle Eon. And he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Boom Bloom turned to Aurora, a question on her brow. “Why’d you accept those from him?” She asked. “I thought you didn’t like his baking very much either.”

Aurora shrugged. “He’d been practicing a lot, Bloom.” She took a brownie and bit off a chunk. “And during that time, he’d gotten a lot better at baking. You should try some.”

She still wasn’t sure. “You know, he can improve. Come on, just try a little bit.”

Boom Bloom sighed, and took a small one. The smallest one on the plate. She nibbled a corner of it, and to her surprise, she found that it was not bad. It was far from the best brownie she had ever tasted in her life, but it was a notable improvement from the last time she had any of Uncle Eon’s brownies. She finished the small one, and had only a second piece, because Aurora managed to polish off most of the plate quickly.

*****

Some time later, the two of them ended up lying down on Aurora’s plush carpet, heads beside each other as they stared up at the ceiling. Aurora put on an album neither of them had ever listened to, and for a while, all was serene. “So, how’re things going on at home anyways?” Asked Aurora. “I’d been meaning to ask. Is Krankcase getting better? And what about Mags?”

Boom Bloom nibbled on her bottom lip. She had been hoping that Aurora wouldn’t ask her about that. That was why she even wanted to sleep over in the first place; so that she could leave home and not have to deal with the people within it. Still, she supposed her best friend had the right to know about what was going on in her life. “Well, Krankcase proposed to Mags lately.”

And Aurora smiled. “Oh, that’s pretty neat!”

A pause from Boom Bloom. “...yeah, I guess.”

It felt weird to talk about parents with Aurora. Especially since Aurora herself was an orphan. A part of her would always feel so selfish whenever she felt resentful towards them, because she knew the person right beside her would give anything to have her parents back.

They originally grew close together because of their similar situations. Aurora was an orphan being raised by her uncle, while Boom Bloom was being raised by relatives because Krankcase was in prison and her mother wanted nothing to do with the family. When Krankcase showed up in her life again, she felt really bad talking to Aurora about how she felt, because she felt like she couldn’t accurately tell her how much she resented him without hurting her feelings in the process. 

She had been so excited for her. Saying how she was happy that her Dad was back in her life again. And it sucked, because as her best friend she used to be the one person she could talk about anything with. Now she had a big thing she needed to talk about, and no one to talk with except for maybe the school counselor. They were going to enter high school soon too, and rumour had it that the school counselor for the high school sucked. It was something Boom Bloom tried not to think about too much, because when she did, she always felt terribly alone.

What was weird was also how she felt kind of envious towards Aurora too. Sure, she might be an orphan, but she had an uncle who she obviously loves and has a good relationship with. But last time she told her how she was jealous of her, they got in a fight. And once they made up, they swore that they would never make each other angry like that ever again.

“I hope your family will be a happy one,” she said. “And also, please invite me to the wedding! That sounds like it would be so exciting. Are you involved in the planning?”

Boom Bloom merely smiled. Swallowed down any hurt she had. Not in front of her, not now. “I’m not really involved in the planning, because they said they just wanted a small and simple ceremony sometime in the winter.” That was all she ever cared to know about the wedding. She was there at her place to have fun and stay a night away from home, but Aurora didn’t need to know that last part. 

Aurora nodded. “Can’t wait,” and grinned. Boom Bloom faked a grin back. The last track on the album played, and it was a good song.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll return to this series once I get more ideas. I want to write a lot, but I barely have any ideas. Watch this space and hopefully I'll get more ideas soon. Fingers crossed.


End file.
